Win BBC Good Food Show Summer Tickets

Its that time of year where I start to get excited as the BBC Good Food Show and Gardeners World Show are nearly here.

I have regularly gone over the past 6 years and for the last two I have attended with my blogging hat on as well as just a keen visitor.

The event is so jam packed with things to look at or take part in, food tastings, bags of samples, competitions to enter,advice for the kitchen, home and garden. 

Demonstrations galore and celebrity chefs and gardeners to spot, loads for the children to get involved in, gardening, watching food demos, learning about the countryside, plus they come home with freebie that are given away too. I always love looking for new gadgets to buy,seeing new plants to take home and foods to cook with.

My tips for a great day out, you can pack a picnic and sit on the hill while you watch gardening demos, the picnic may not get eaten as you will find you are handed so many different foods to try before lunch ,my two always make a beeline for the Carte D'Or stand, while I make a beeline to the wine tasting ...hic!

Invest in one of the wheeled carts for sale, not only handy to lug all the goodies you will collect and buy, but makes a fabulous picnic trolley and is so sturdy, making it over deep sand on the beach. Chris has made a lid for ours and it acts as a table for prepping food for the picnic.

Oh if you do buy or take a trolley please don't forget its behind you and 

bash peoples heels, will save lots of angry exchanges!

Stay until the end of the day, they give out a carrier bag full of samples, money of coupons and competition leaflets.

Keep your eyes peeled, some rather tasty chefs are often wandering around looking at the stalls.

Finally if you go by car, make sure you check and note very carefully where you park, we spent the first year wandering in the wrong car park as Chris had looked at the sign for a different area, (they are reached by buses,to give you an idea of the volume of cars) we were not the only ones and each year we see scores of lost tired people looking for their ride home!

The BBC Good Food Show Summer is running from 12–16 June at the NEC in Birmingham and to celebrate they have teamed up with the Given To Distracting Others to offer you this fantastic prize! 

Win 1 of 5 pairs of general admission tickets to enjoy a day at the Show. The Show is packed full of celebrity chefs including Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry, James Martin, John Torode and Gregg Wallace demonstrating live on the Supertheatre sponsored by Tesco Real Food. Plus see your favourite TV programmes brought to life including The Great British Bake Off, MasterChef and Saturday Kitchen. Shop till you drop from over 200 food stands. Visit the Producers’ Village and the Good Food Champions area to find small and artisan produce that you won’t see on the high street and Don’t forget your ticket also gets you free entry to BBC Gardeners’ World Live where you can learn how to grow your own from some of the nation’s top gardening experts!

Not a winner? To book tickets and for more information on the BBC Good Food Show Summer please visit bbcgoodfoodshowsummer.com or call 0844 581 1341

To enter please fillin the easy peasy rafflecopter

Please note I will need your details to send to Haymarket straight away as the tickets need to get to you. I will be contacting the winners on Saturday the 1st of June, I will allow 48 hours before a redraw.

Terms and conditions for tickets and giveaways for BBC Haymarket Exhibitions

All tickets are general admission excluding Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are non refundable and non-exchangeable. Ticket terms and conditions apply.

Tickets will be mailed out directly to the competition holder by BBC Haymarket Exhibitions. It is the responsibility of the competition holder to forward tickets to the winners. Competition holder to confirm receipt of tickets and subsequent delivery to winners to BBC Haymarket Exhibitions.

Tickets do not include a seat in the supertheatre.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coldpress Drinks Review

In a world where new flavours are almost a daily occurrence I for one still love all the original ones at times.

Apple juice is a regular drink in my home, in fact we go through lots. I like my children, hubby, myself and Granny to get our 5 a day and  a juice is one of the easier ways to ensure this.

When Coldpress asked me to try their new drinks I was happy to say yes. The Coldpress juice is apple juice with a difference. If it says Golden Delicious apples then that is what you are tasting. All the drinks I tried are just as if the fruit has been picked freshly and the juice extracted into a glass that day.

The Braeburn apple is exactly the taste of a Braeburn it is so refreshing, so natural. I shared with Granny who adored them and I will be stocking up for her this winter. 

They showcase different varieties of apples to get a true flavour and not only that, they  are made using careful procedures to retain the pure fresh taste.

*STOP PRESS*

Coldpress Pink Lady has just won the title of Best Adult Beverage in The Grocer’s prestigious New Product Awards 2012!

 Big juice brands tend to use heat pasteurisation to extend shelf life, this can lead to over-cooking of the ingredients, robbing them of all their delicate flavour notes, aromas and nutritional goodness,which means they taste nothing like the fruit they are supposed to contain. 

 

Coldpress fruit is picked, crushed, filtered and bottled, and then treated to a unique cold pressure process (HPP) instead of heat which allows individual apple varieties like Braeburn, Granny Smith and Pink Lady to proudly showcase their unique flavours.  The result is a unique, pure and fresh taste in every mouthful.

Compared to heat pasteurised fruit juice, each bottle of Coldpress contains:

• Double the antioxidants
• Double the vitamin C
• 100% fruit (a 250ml bottle contains three apples or oranges)
• One portion of your five a day
• … and it lasts eight times longer in the fridge!

But Coldpress juices aren’t just about delicious apple varieties. Other fruits such as Valencia orange, raspberries, strawberries, passion fruit and lemons are also given the same careful treatment – not only to let their unique taste talents shine through, but also to retain twice the vitamin C and antioxidant levels of their more traditional heat-blasted rivals.

The full Coldpress range includes Pink Lady Apple, Braeburn Apple, Granny Smith Apple, Golden Delicious Apple,Apple & Peach, Apple and; Passionfruit, Apple and Lemon, Apple and Strawberry, Apple and Raspberry, Valencia Orange and Tropical.  Available in 250ml and 750ml bottles and available from Waitrose, Tesco and Ocado plus a growing nationwide network of discerning delis, farm shops and independent coffee shops.  RSP 250ml £1.69 and 750ml £2.79.

Côtes du Rhône Review

The Glorious Twelfth has arrived which marks the start of the shooting season and a change on the British menu, last year I was very privileged to cook with the new seasons grouse see here.

http://given-to-distracting-others.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/blackface-meat-company-young-grouse.html

The richness of meat was crying out for a good red wine to accompany it, only I did not know it.

It has been so hot today and I have spent the day catching up with friends, so out came the  Côtes du Rhône 

selection I was sent. The first we dipped into was the Domaine du Seminaire , the colour was a  deep blackcurrant and the tones of that fruit seemed evident as well as a plum flavour. We all tried it and Chris and his friend were smitten. Chris loved the smoothness.he described it as full of richness and like a heavy wine at first but incredibly light. Easy to drink and  left him wanting more.

The Les Meysonniers was a different yet similar smooth wine, the fruity taste seemed lighter, summery fruits like cherry almost, this wine had a herby taste and of the two, I felt would suit more gamy meats. 

 The specific two wines I have sampled  are not yet available in the UK, so I had had rather an exclusive tasting! However Cotes du Rhône is readily available in UK supermarkets and it has a varying price range to suit all budgets. 

Now that what little summer we had is nearly over, it means an end to BBQs, summer salads and Pimms, and it is instead time to take advantage of the delicious range of seasonal produce which is arriving and enjoy autumnal recipes featuring ingredients like pheasant, venison and guinea fowl.

Côtes du Rhône offers the perfect accompaniment to many autumn recipes. The full-bodied red wines go perfectly with game. Recipes such as game pie, venison casserole or just a simple roast grouse are complimented by the spicy, peppery and full-bodied flavours the red wines have to offer.

There are a variety of different styles of Côtes du Rhône available with a varying price range. For more information go to www.vins-rhone.com

 Disclosure I was given a free product. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

Pilgrims Choice Review

I adore cheese, I don't think I have met one yet that I did not like, and if its mature then I am even happier.

Pilgrims Choice and even more happy with the Punchy Lighter Extra Mature Cheddar I was sent to review.

I know I keep banging on about the weight I lost and I am coming up to a year of successful weight maintenance and I am actually under my target weight so can indulge from time to time.

Cheese was and is my passion, a daily portion when losing weight was a measly 30g,but a lighter cheese was 45g, add that to a recipe for 4 and my cheese craving was sated.

However I found that many of the cheeses were bland and a bit plastic tasting. I did finally source a couple but I love a mature cheese.

Pilgrims Choice Lighter is extra mature, it smells like a good cheddar, the taste is natural, strong and leaves a lovely tangy taste.

I still watch my cheese consumption to keep my weight, so when I eat it I need a really good one, this is it

I used it as a topping on lasagne and it gave a fabulous rich cheesy taste, but what I like best is a nibble of it with apple.

LOW CALORIE:

• Pilgrims Choice Lighter Extra Mature - strong and punchy

Stockist:  Most major supermarkets 

Size: 350g  

RRP: from £4.49

Product Details:  Full on flavour, lower on fat, Lighter Extra 

Mature can be enjoyed on its own as a snack, or incorporated 

into healthy and nutritious meals.  It is great grated into 

soups or on to gratins, perfect on pasta and scrumptious in salads.  This cheese has a wonderfully strong and punchy flavour so you can use less and still 

enjoy a really cheesy dish. 

Similarly to Pilgrims Choice Lighter Mature, this cheese is exactly the same as the non lighter 

version (matured for 12 months) only it’s made with a blend of skimmed and full fat milk 

making it 30% less fat.  All cheese is an excellent source of protein and contains valuable 

nutrients including calcium and vitamins.   

Lighter Mature and Lighter Extra Mature can be eaten as part of a healthy and balanced diet 

for all the family or help weight loss as part of a low-fat diet – with no compromise on taste.  

www.pilgrimschoice.com/home/

French Wines with Style

I am taking part in a blogger challenge organised with French Wines with Style who want me give my ideas of the perfect summer recipes paired with Summer French wines, bearing in mind the notion of style.

Its part of a series of events to launch  a new  French Wines campaign, running across six countries: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Russia and the UK.

The three-year campaign aims to demonstrate the diversity and accessibility of French Wines, and uses 

the strap line "Wines with Style". 

Now I have tried many wines both through my own choice and purchase, also  through trying them for review.

I still am a complete beginner and have oodles to learn.

So to pair with summer food and do so with style is actually a big challenge.

The two wines I was sent were VDF Gabriel Meffre Chardonnay Gros Manseng 2011 and Provence - Château de Brigue Prestige Rosé 2011.

Totally new to me, the full info on these wines is at the end of my challenge.

I drink Chardonnay already, I know its a great wine to accompany white meat and seafood and I will happily go with that in a restaurant but always the rebel, I love pork with it, a lovely pan fried chop in a creamy mushroom sauce. 

I also love it with bacon, so my choice for a light summery dish would be either Spaghetti Carbonara 

Maybe a dish my lovely French blogging friend gave me years ago, Tartiflette.

But what I actually teamed it with was a favourite pasta dish.Chicken with pesto, spinach and olives oil

My next pairing was for the Chateau de Brigue

 I know that rosé  a great wine to accompany desserts, but this is quite a dry wine, so can I think, handle savoury dishes. I also think  it can handle a little spice too.

So over to my  beloved chilli  spice and wonderful pink partnering of  King Prawns barbecued then served with a barbecue and tomato dressing on top of salad. 

For my  palate and I am not claiming its a good one, this is perfect, just a kick of spice and the Chateau de Brigue dry rose with salad notes teaming with the cucumber and leaves.

VDF Gabriel Meffre Chardonnay Gros Manseng 2011

A brilliant pale yellow colour with green tints. Powerful and complex citrus aromas are complimented by a slight peach and ginger spice touch coming from the Gros Manseng in the blend. The Chardonnay brings honey and floral notes. Full and flavour in the mouth, reflecting the same fruits as on the nose. A delightfully long finish.

Enjoy chilled to 13 C with white meats and seafood. It will be drinking well for up to 2 years.

Provence - Château de Brigue Prestige Rosé 2011

The 2011 Prestige Rose is a blend of 70% Cinsaut and 30% Syrah from two

seperate terroirs. It is harvested by machine in the very early monrning to

preserve the freshness of the fruit.

The colour is light orange with pink reflections.

Citrus fruits dominate the nose and in the mouth the wine is complex with fruit

salad notes and white flowers. The finish is long and fresh.

Disclosure, I was sent the two wines with a small selection of herbs, mustard and bbq sauce. I was not paid for my post and these are my own views.